Good night, all.

Flying today I made sure to thank TSA staff for coming in without pay.

Why are some universities saddling families with student loan debt? Join us this Thursday as we host New America's Stephen Burd to explore his new research: georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Morning at the gym before today's flight. Mentally preparing for traffic.

Thoughts on turning 59: bryanalexander.org/personal/tho...

The latest global temperature projections from Hansen et al, taking into account El Nino/La Nina swings. We might see a major temp increase this year. (via the essential @billmckibben.bsky.social )

Reporter Julie Brown, who first broke the Epstein case, us convinced someone murdered Epstein: [New Yorker: Political Scene] What Donald Trump and “Everyone” Knew About Jeffrey Epstein #newYorkerPoliticalScene podcastaddict.com/new-yorker-p... via @PodcastAddict

Today's map, courtesy of @adamtooze.bsky.social :

Exactly. Trump 2.0 is, among other things, such a wound to American scientific research in the academy.

The @insidehighered.com site gives me a security check nearly every time I click on it these days.

It's very intense to watch this classic found footage film now, given Trump's brutal campaign against Latinos:

I just spent an hour trying to get the new Mailchimp campaign builder to work. What a mess. It's like WordPress' Gutenberg, actively hostile to writing.

Flying domestically in the US, has anyone encountered problems due to the federal government shutdown? For starters, I'm concerned about TSA working without pay.

Tonight's film which I'm showing to some who haven't seen it. On rewatching it's so gorgeous, both visuals and sounds. I'm appreciating Eggers as a director: lovely compositions, a grasp of natural beauty, lush sound design.

"The high school English classroom is the most influential literary institution in the United States, and the most overlooked by literary scholars."

TSA staff working without pay: apnews.com/article/dhs-...

The US Department of Labor launched an AI literacy framework: www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov...

"Trump’s EPA can’t simply erase climate change — and we’ll all pay the price" | My op-ed with Bob Ward in @sfchronicle.com: www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

Another instance of another country trying to attract American academics. France again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Climate change denial is now official US policy.

Lourdes University (Franciscan, Ohio) will close this May, due to enrollment and financial problems: www.toledoblade.com/local/educat...

My latest vlog on what Trump is doing to higher ed: youtu.be/7mwNLb-erDg?...

On the sudden El Paso airspace closure:

The flow of stories about Epstein and academics just keeps getting worse.

Glad to see "Epstein class" continue in use: www.reddit.com/r/law/commen...

Back from the gym. 59, eh?

I'm enjoying Breakdown: 1975 very much. I was 8 that year. Thanks to @rickperlstein.bsky.social for the tip.

Working on my blog post about turning 59. My arms are happily sore from this morning's workout - I pushed myself to bench 270 for the first time since I was 30 or so.

I'm delighted and astonished that we're holding our TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY Future Trends Forum session this week! georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Ah, the Onion: "Trove Of Emails About Pedophilia Reignites Nation’s Love Of Reading" theonion.com/trove-of-ema...

Ouch. Yes:

A cat scare last night: the back door blew open at 1 am and Spider was nowhere to be found. We searched every bit of the house, then went out into -1 F temps to check the yard, then the neighboring houses. No sign of him. At 3 am he jumped on our bed.

How have the culture wars reshaped higher education? Here's our full Future Trends Forum conversation with professor @schoolfuss.bsky.social : youtu.be/jaK4TdUwAbQ?...

Coming up where I live:

The US Coast Guard posted to Instagram about breaking... ice. How they are very careful to handle ice properly. You need to bring expertise to address... ice. Etc: www.instagram.com/reel/DUa7FES...

Campus cuts, closures, mergers, and layoffs for winter 2025-2026: I assemble the evidence from the past two months. bryanalexander.org/horizon-scan...

I tried to make a dignified appearance on Zoom then Ash decided to intervene:

Wondering what the odds are of Trump sending ICE etc. into Virginia. Our new government is very blue, very active, and seems to be getting a lot of attention.

We are turning millions of gallons of ancient sunlight into liters of dopamine. -Nate Hagens

FFS:

FFS:

Stefan Bauschard and Anand Rao interview me about Peak Higher Ed: youtu.be/DYJ9Rgusu54?...

Walking over the Potomac:

"My instinct says that the Fall of the Nerds will be a deep, far-reaching, systematic change. " -Noah Smith open.substack.com/pub/noahpini...

A group of former and current agricultural leaders warned that American’s good system is under immense stress. static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...

It's bad enough when a webinar disables chat. It's worse when presenters don't realize that's happened and keep asking the audience to write in the chat box.

Tomorrow we're talking with professor Mark Hlavacik about his research into academia's role in America's culture wars. Please join us from 2-3 pm ET, and you can register here: georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/regi... @schoolfuss.bsky.social

My new desk sign. Gift from a friend.

It's always good to connect from Dean Dad, and to hear his reflections:

Trump now demands $1 billion from Harvard : www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...